At the end of all our hard work, after our energy is spent, we have nothing else that we can do but fall on the grace of God. Why? Because God desires mercy rather than sacrifice.

The Limitations of Sacrifice

What was Jesus’ problem with sacrifices? Wasn’t He the one who established them in the Old Testament? 

The sacrificial system seems barbaric to many Christians in our modern day. We don’t participate in them anymore and even the thought of it is repulsive. Likewise, the Law of God in the Old Testament no longer holds much sway on the daily life of New Testament believers. What would I do without my weekly prime rib sandwich, covered in provolone cheese? It’s not exactly kosher. 

When we come to these words of Jesus, “I desire mercy rather than sacrifice,” we think that Jesus is adding something new for His followers, but Jesus is actually quoting the words of God from the Old Testament prophet, Hosea. God never intended for His covenant people to rely on their sacrifices as a means of satisfying His righteous requirements. In Psalm 50, the booming voice of God declares that He doesn’t want our sacrifices. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. If He were hungry, He wouldn’t come asking for a handout from us. Instead, He says, “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” 

The sacrificial system in the Old Testament was meant to teach us the seriousness of God’s holiness and justice. Our sin has consequences and requires a punishment of death. Just to enter into the presence of God demanded strenuous cleansing and ceremonial washing. However, the sacrifices were simply a placeholder for when Jesus would come and be the ultimate sacrifice, the Lamb of God slain for the sins of the world. Washed by His blood we are clothed in His righteousness and come before the judge of the universe as joint heirs with Christ, children of God. Every law, every requirement, and every ritual in the Old Testament was pointing to Christ, the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise and provision. 

The Lord of the Sabbath

The religious leaders were not particularly fond of Jesus and His teaching. He didn’t conform to their standards and often called out their self-righteous attitude. The Pharisees had worked hard to distance themselves from the rest of the community so that they would be perceived as more righteous. Jesus, however, was often seen ministering to commoners. He had already used this quote from Hosea once before in Matthew 9 after the Pharisees accused Him of dining with sinners. 

Jesus' disciples were made up of rough tradesmen, fishermen, and a tax collector. They certainly were not from high society or the elite religious class. As they were walking through the fields on the Sabbath, they reached out their hands to grab some grain to eat along the way. This was unthinkable to the religious leaders and just what they needed to condemn Jesus and His lax standards in training His disciples. 

I love the illustration Jesus uses. He harkens back to King David and draws their attention to a pretty low point in David’s life. He was running from Saul out of cowardice, he lied to the high priest, he took the holy bread from the tabernacle which was not lawful for him to eat, and he grabbed Goliath’s sword and fled to Gath where he acted like he had lost his mind so they wouldn’t kill him (I Samuel 21). Jesus’ point is that if David could make an utter fool of himself and still be accepted by God, surely His disciples could have a few handfuls of grain. Note: David wrote a Psalm in response to these strange events in his life. Psalm 34 begins, “I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad.” 

The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27). It wasn’t designed to give people an inflated view of themselves but to make them utterly dependent upon God. At the end of all our hard work, after our energy is spent, we have nothing else that we can do but fall on the grace of God. Why? Because God desires mercy rather than sacrifice. It is not our work that will save us, it is God’s loving kindness. Leave it to the Pharisees to take a day that was designed for rest and turn it into work. 

Let’s be careful that we don’t jump to the other extreme and think that Jesus was diminishing the requirements of the Sabbath. Jesus would have been in the synagogue every Saturday. He kept every requirement of the Law. The Pharisees were nitpicking about something that was not in the Bible. Jesus would also get accused of breaking the Sabbath by healing people, but He was still blameless according to standards God had placed on Israel. Jesus kept the Law, even the things that we would consider ridiculous today. He did it to make a point. He was the fulfillment of the Law. He was the Lord of the Sabbath. 

God Desires Mercy, and Not Sacrifice

We must acknowledge that it is actually a very difficult thing to accept the work of Christ over our own efforts. This is why the gospel was considered a stumbling block to the Jews. Their whole life was built around rhythm, routine, and ritual in order to honor God and avoid judgment. Can you imagine how they must have felt when they heard Jesus say that their good works were not enough to save them? 

That is why there was a great deal of conflict in the early Church between believing Jews and converted Gentiles. Those who grew up under the rigors of the Law could not simply let them go and rest in Christ. They had a hard time accepting Gentiles who had never kept kosher a day in their lives. The Apostle Paul spent a great deal of his letter writing ministry confronting this problem. While we don’t necessarily have the same cultural clash within our contemporary Churches, the theological point remains. We cannot earn our own righteousness by keeping the Law. It is a burden too great for anyone to bear. Christ bore the burden of the Law, He bore the burden of our sin, and He bore the burden of God’s wrath so that we might be saved. All we can do is rest in Him.

The word, ‘Mercy,’ in this passage is a translation of the Hebrew word, “Hessed,” from Hosea 6:6. It is actually a very difficult word to translate into English. Often rendered, “Loving kindness,” it carries with it the weight of God’s covenant. He is loving because of His own character and promises. His love is not based on our righteousness at all. 

When you understand where this quote comes from in the context of Hosea, it is even more revealing. Hosea was told to marry a prostitute who eventually cheated on him, but he was told to take her back. This parallels the waywardness of the People of Israel throughout the Old Testament. They were constantly cheating on God and taking advantage of His good nature. They did not honor Him or keep His Law, yet God remained faithful to them. 

Have You Not Read? 

It’s easy to lose sight of the love of God when we are wrapped up in ourselves. We are so privileged that we fail to give appropriate thanks to God for His mercy and love. Jesus’ rebuke of the Pharisees takes into consideration that they had been students of the Law of God their entire lives. They had lived according to it’s requirements, but they had missed the point. They knew the stories but they didn’t know the storyteller. They saw a way to elevate themselves rather than worship God in humility. 

This is a problem that is far too common, even to this day. Many people know a good deal about Jesus, but very few truly know Him. They read His words, but they don’t understand what He is really saying. Jesus even makes this point in the next chapter. By hiding His message in parables He says, “Seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand” (Matthew 13:13). 

So take a closer look. Press in a little bit deeper. Ask for wisdom and understanding. Do you know what it means that God desires mercy rather than sacrifice? Are you truly resting in the Lord of the Sabbath? Are you making the sacrifice of thanksgiving that God actually desires?

 

Adam Miller is the president and host of Songtime Radio and serves as the pastor of South Chatham Community Church. 

You can hear his teaching on our daily broadcast on the radio or online, watch his preaching live on Facebook, and read his articles on our website.